On pioneering a new venture
from Italy:
There is nothing more difficult to take in hand,
More perilous to conduct,
Or more uncertain in its success,
Than to take the lead in the introduction
of a new order of things
On patents and intellectual property
from England:
Steel and the first expansions. It paid, I tell you, it paid,
When we came with our nine-knot freighters and collared the long-run trade!
And they asked me how I did it; and I gave 'em the Scripture text,
"You keep your light so shining a little in front o' the next!"
They copied all they could follow, but they couldn't copy my mind,
And I left 'em sweating and stealing a year and a half behind.
On American competitiveness
from The United States:
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.
Unfortunately, so is losing. There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.On Risk
The Petroleum Industry's Song?
from "The Gambler"
You got to know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away,
Know when to run . . . .
On Sticking with it
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Never, never, never give up.
On Imagination
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution
On Keeping On Keeping On
Every road through life is a long, long road,
Filled with joys and sorrows too,
As you journey on how your heart will yearn
For the things most dear to you.
With wealth and love ’tis so,
But onward we must go.
Chorus:
Keep right on to the end of the road,
Keep right on to the end,
If the way be long, let your heart be strong,
Keep right on round the bend.
If you’re tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode,
Where all you love that you’re dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road.
With a big stout heart to a long steep hill,
We may get there with a smile,
With a good kind thought and an end in view,
We may cut short many a mile.
So let courage every day
Be your guiding star always.
